George Lazenby

Forever enshrined in the footnotes of pop culture history as the second actor to play James Bond on screen - and the one with the shortest tenure in the role - George Lazenby was a former model plucke...
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Movie executive David Picker has revealed he offered Sean Connery the deal of a lifetime to come back as James Bond one more time after learning producers of the franchise had treated him badly. The United Artists head oversaw the Bond movies and was stunned when he learned Connery would not be back as 007 for his sixth film and he set about winning the Scot back for one more film, 1971's Diamonds Are Forever.
Picker tells BlogTalkRadio.com, "We approved everything but we weren't there for the day in and day out stuff of making the movie, so we were not aware that there was a problem with Sean. We had renegotiated the producers' deal several times because of the success of the movies and it turned out these guys had never gone to Sean and renegotiated his deal. They just figured he was lucky to have the role.
"When Sean said, 'OK fellas, I'm outta here,' we didn't understand the reason why, and the producers obviously didn't want to tell us about the way they had treated him. We went and found a very nice gentleman in George Lazenby for On Her Majesty's Secret Service, which the public was clearly not interested seeing as James Bond.
"After we flopped with Lazenby we had to get Sean back, so I met with Sean and it turned out they had treated him really badly. I worked out a deal I thought Sean would respond to, where he'd only have to do one more movie for us. (I said), 'If you do one movie more for James Bond we will make a three-picture deal with you where you can make any picture up to a certain budget.
"Sean came back and obviously revived the series and only made one movie under that deal. It was The Offence, playing a sadistic policeman; a very good movie which never found an audience. Sean never forgot that I was the one for him to get back and he's been very complimentary about that over the years. I saw him at a dinner party in Los Angeles four or five years ago. When I saw him he said, 'David Picker is the only movie executive who I ever liked!'"
Connery actually made one more film as Bond - he played 007 in 1983's Never Say Never Again. He was officially replaced by Roger Moore.

Industry rumours suggest show bosses Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are planning a spectacular tribute to the superspy series for Hollywood's big night - and it will include appearances from reclusive Connery, George Lazenby, Sir Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and current action star Craig, who will all step onstage as soul sensation Adele performs her Bond theme tune Skyfall.
If the reports are true, it will be a huge coup for the Academy - 82-year-old Connery, the first ever Bond actor, vowed to retire from public appearances in 2011 and has largely remained out of the spotlight ever since.
Meanwhile, the 85th Academy Awards will also feature a special celebration of movie musicals of the past decade, with Chicago, Dreamgirls and the Oscar-nominated Les Miserables being showcased during the 24 February (13) telecast.

Most Bond movies begin with some sort of excitement. We see 007 engaged in saving the day, a villain perpetrating some disaster on the world, or some poor girl added as another notch to his bed post.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the first Bond picture without Sean Connery, begins differently. It's dusk and Bond is driving down a road all alone and pulls over next to the beach. He pulls out the scope from his rifle to use as a telescope and sees a beautiful woman walking along the beach. He watches her as she walks through the sand, puts her hands through her hair and heads toward the water. There she is, another target in his sight, literally. But it takes a sinister turn, she's walking into the ocean still wearing her clothes (a ridiculous butterfly gown that would be on any worst dressed list) intent on ending it forever. He rushes to save her and carts her body onto the sand, for a change carrying a woman not to bed, but to safety. He pants over her body, his tuxedo shirt now transparent with water and clinging to his muscled body. "I'm Bond, James Bond," he says. And then he as attacked by three goons and he beats the crap of them in the water as the woman escapes. Yes, it becomes like all the other movies very quickly.
But all the differences of this 1963 offering are evident in this opening. It is getting darker both literally (it takes place at twilight — before that meant "vampires") and figuratively. This movie has a decidedly dastardly point of view and the first thing we see is a suicide, or at least an attempt. That is not something that was in Connery's universe of martinis, card games, and good time girls.
And there is the love interest. We see this woman again and again. Played by Diana Rigg in one of the best "Bond girl" performances ever, she plays a troubled daughter of an underworld crime figure who wants to pay Bond to marry her and take her off his hands. That is some twisted nonsense.
Then the other important part of the opening: George Lazenby. Oh, George. The first time we see his face is when he introduces himself in a wink to the audience that everything has changed. Lazenby and Connery look similar, but they are remarkably different. Connery's sexuality was forceful, always throwing the woman down and making her submit to his advances (which they always did). Lazenby is more open than Connery and his bond has a sex appeal that is more inherent. He is the hero and alpha male with the broad chest and chiseled features that everyone is biologically predisposed to just lust for. He doesn't have to force anyone, because the moment they see him, they want to sleep with him. His physicality is also exploited with that see-through shirt and again later when he wears a puffy shirt (hello, Seinfeld) and a kilt. He is a secure man and that secures his prey.
Yes, On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the best Bond movie for all of these reasons. The darkness doesn't end with the beginning and neither does the love affair. It's the first movie in the series where Bond is after the same woman the whole time and ends up marrying her. But just as he is at his happiest, she's murdered by the villains (spoiler alert!). The venom just under the surface is unrelenting and it refuses to let us be complacent in the fantasy that a spy's life is all victory and panache.
But there is plenty of panache, and to balance out the darkness there is so much light that today it verges on camp (which I think every classic movie needs a little bit of). Bond tracks down his old nemesis Blofeld (played here by Telly Savalas) to Switzerland where he has gathered women from all over the world under the auspices of having a beauty pageant. Of course he is really hypnotizing them at night so that they'll destroy the world's food supply. Bond gets into the compound by posing as a scientist working with Blofeld. But how can they have this rooster in the hen house? He poses as a gay scientist so that he can be left alone with the women and get into their knickers under the watchful gaze of their evil chaperone, Irma Bunt, a lady as vicious as her name. He is so secure, he doesn't care if people think he's gay and, in his kilt, again does not mind being the object of sexual admiration.
OHMSS has everything you expect in a Bond movie — car chases, an amazing ski chase through an Alpine festival, Joanna Lumley ages before she starred in Absolutely Fabulous — but what makes it the best are its differences. This doesn't end with James bond saving MI6 like the other movies, it ends with him joining forces with his lover's gangster father to rescue her from Blofeld. He's disobeying orders for love!
Where have we seen all those things? Oh, in all the subsequent Bond movies. Of all the other men to play the role, I say Daniel Craig owes the most to Lazenby. Craig combines the metrosexual obsession with the beauty of the male physique with an inner brooding darkness. Everything they say about OHMSS are the hooks of Daniel Craig's revolutionary Bond: going against his bosses, check; killed lover, check; quietly fixed lower jaw, check; going back to the original Fleming material, check. Except it's not that revolutionary because Lazenby did it first and did it with fun. He did it with a campy wink to let us know that he was in on the fun too. His movie will always be the best because his Bond has everything – and he looks amazing in a wet tuxedo shirt.
Follow Brian Moylan on Twitter @BrianJMoylan
[Photo Credit: United Artists]
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Ever since the start of the character's big screen prowess with Dr. No in 1962, James Bond has taken many forms. The super spy has found himself in the capable hands of Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and, presently, Daniel Craig. But without Ian Fleming, none of these men would have had a Bond to bear. The late Fleming was, himself, a decorated intelligence officer-turned-author who created the character of James Bond in the 1953 novel Casino Royale. With 13 additional books to follow over the course of the next decade and change, Fleming crafted adventure after adventure for his now classic action hero. And from each of these novels and short story collections sprouted a movie — just about every one of James Bond's 23 big screen forays (that number includes the new release Skyfall) is adapted directly from one of Fleming's tomes.
Just about.
See, the 1990s gave the world a Bond in the form of Pierce Brosnan, whose missions were, moreover, original concoctions of the screenwriters, rather than derivations of Fleming's plots. Brosnan's pictures (GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, and that wacky icecapade, Die Another Day) were unique in their independence from the literature, never drawing more than a subplot or a minor character arc from one of Fleming's stories. But that doesn't mean they don't have that same storybook flare as their predecessors. Sure, our favorite Bond flicks might be plucked from the realms of Timothy Dalton (Matt Patches picked The Living Daylights as his top choice), Roger Moore (Kate Ward opted for Live and Let Die), and Daniel Craig (Kelsea Stahler chose Casino Royale), but Brosnan is an important member of the team. His movies deserve our attention, and they deserve their place on the bookshelves.
We might not have the authorship of the venerated Fleming at our disposal, but we know a thing or two about putting some fancy words together (after all, we write for the Internet!), so we've opted to put our creative writing degrees to work. Below you'll find an excerpt from our own contribution to James Bond novel collection, chronicling one of the stories that Brosnan endured throughout his four cinematic turns as Agent 007: a scene from Die Another Day. Check it out — this counts as reading an actual book!
Die Another Day – Chapter VI: "The Chase Through Ice Castle"Bond scanned the exterior of the palace from behind a mammoth ice structure, investing his most deliberate concentration in the surveillance of the hotly guarded piazza. He determined that the coast was clear and summoned his invisible car for a getaway. Confident in an easy escape, Bond rushed to the car and slunk in through the driver’s side door, pulling off his constrictive turtleneck once behind the wheel. But before the opportunity to speed off unnoticed arose, Bond’s unseen vehicle was rear-ended by a guard on a snowmobile, calling attention to the incognito cruiser and setting off a wild chase for the double-0 agent.
Caught in the sights of the thermal imaging program of that nefarious Zao’s nearby Jaguar, Bond was chased by the villainous lackey (and his high-powered machine gun) out of the frozen piazza and onto a lake of ice. Bond’s confidence began to wash as his camouflage system failed, planting him right in the sights of the bloodthirsty cretin on his tail.
Out from the sides of Zao's car sprung two missiles, ready to fire at the alert but steady Bond. With the flick of a switch, Zao released the fire-powered missiles straight out front, colliding with the icy surface and toppling Bond's car on its roof. Thinking quickly, the agent cracked open his moon roof and propped the vehicle right-side up once again with the inertia of an ejected passenger seat — a crafty maneuver that forced 007 to cock a self-assured smile.
Managing to take Zao's tail in the chase, Bond employing his own line of Q Branch merchandise to face off in a firefight with his militant enemy. A quick bump of Zao's back fender sent the scowling baddie skidding off beyond his control... but Bond took note of a new danger on the horizon (most literally): off in the distance of the sheet-white skies, a laser soared out from the frozen palace. One that could seal not only Bond's fate, but that of the human race in entirety. The agent zoomed past a team of ferocious guards, headlining it right in through the palace's crystal doors.
Bond was alarmed, but hardly yet fear-stricken. Although Zao was close behind, he had the upper hand: the training of MI-6, the forces of good on his side, and the inimitable factor that he was, quite simply, James Bond. Zao chased the hero through the rounded corridors of the palace, eventually finding his victim seated all too helplessly at the edge of a balcony, overlooking a sub-zero moat. Zao extended a sharp staff from the hood of his vehicle to spear Bond and send him torpedoing into a bath of stabbing ice water, charging upon the agent with a victorious rush... but Bond, upholding a sense of timing only he could master, reignited his automobile's invisibility cloak along with an invaluable cleated tire feature, reversing quietly up toward and onto tower's cavern-like walls, adhering rigidly and watching Zao speed by and damning himself to the very fate he had intended for Bond.
Without allowing a second to slip beyond his grasp, Bond retreated efficiently toward the drowning Zao, shooting down a daggering chandelier to do his pursuer in once and for all. Bond cackled darkly as he drove off with a new found sense of ease. Killing, though never his favorite component of the job, was a necessary one. And one he was very, very good at.But Die Another Day is just one of the Brosnan pictures that have gone un-noveled. Can you imagine what a thrill it would be reading the source material for GoldenEye ("As Xenia's superhuman thighs dragged the crackling life out of the aged fool, she thought back upon her upbringing in Eastern Europe. What drove her to this life of impassioned, bloodletting crime? And as these ruminations tumbled through her head, Xenia realized that her victim had stopped breathing altogether. She had taken another; her hands had molded a long line of lifeless fools, and she had no idea when and where this line might end.")? How about Tomorrow Never Dies or The World Is Not Enough?
Or, for that matter, Daniel Craig's upcoming Skyfall? Check it out in theaters on Friday, and bring a notebook — that one needs its own novel, too!
[Photo Credit: MGM]
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Goldfinger might be solid cinema gold, and Casino Royale may have dealt Bond fans a brand-new hand, but Live and Let Die was the first film in the franchise to prove that Bond, James Bond, would never die.
And by the early 1970s, Bond was badly in need of resuscitation. Sean Connery, fresh off his sixth Bond film, was nearing 40 and was eager to trade martinis for meatier roles in films like The Offence and Zardoz (the latter being a nude-friendly film that was perhaps too, ahem, meaty). And George Lazenby's performance in On Your Majesty's Secret Service flatlined after the new Bond decided the role made him felt "mindless." Producers — who had already failed to get Connery back on board — took a chance on cult TV star Roger Moore, and, with the release of 1973's Live and Let Die, Bond had a healthy heartbeat once again.
But it's surprising that Live and Let Die allowed Bond to live — after all, all the odds were against the film. Not only did Moore offer audiences accustomed to Connery a completely different version of Bond — forging the path for further franchise game-changers like Daniel Craig — but the film lingered in a world where drug-trafficking was more of a concern than Connery's cat-stroking villains. But the troubled 1970s turned out to be the perfect time to break out a grittier Bond, and Moore's portrayal was a welcome change from Connery's swinging '60s spy. Sure, Moore's Bond did plenty of pun- and love-making, but he brought a refreshing face to the franchise that was as believable as it was handsome.
Yet audiences latching onto the new Bond is less surprising than audiences latching onto Live and Let Die's subject matter. Whereas Bond fans had spent years watching the spy fight over-exaggerated villains in exotic locations, Live and Let Die grounded Bond in New Orleans, setting him in an atmosphere more reminiscent of blaxploitation films than the golden Bond era. Of course, that didn't always serve Moore's Bond well — Live and Let Die has come under fire for using racial epitaphs and for some representation of African-Americans in the era. But Live and Let Die also gained credit for being progressive, linking Bond with an African-American woman, Rosie Carver's Gloria Hendry. Again, with Moore, change was good.
Live and Let Die, like all Bond movies, also had its weaknesses. (The aforementioned disappointing racial overtones, the terrible Sheriff J.W. Pepper, etc.) But the famous crocodile scene — made more tense by its accompanying discomforting silence and the fact that Moore's stunt man nearly lost a leg completing the scene — was enough to overtake Bond's 22 other outings and become my favorite movie in the franchise. It represents everything that's good about Live and Let Die: It was as exciting as it was ridiculous and, more importantly, it felt different than splashy action scenes of Connery's yore.
Now, it's entirely possible the stunning 22-year-old Jane Seymour —a virginal far cry from the matronly Dr. Quinn who became an easy punchlines in the 1990s — and a badass theme song, Paul McCartney and the Wings' "Live and Let Die," that was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Song is swaying me to favor the film. But without Moore and Live and Let Die's successful departure from Bond's first forays into film, we wouldn't have Pierce Brosnan, Craig, and any other future iteration of the character that will look and act nothing like Connery's Bond. And, in the name of Lazenby, that would lead us straight to the bar for a strong martini.
[Image Credit: United Artists]
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Sean Connery. George Lazenby. Roger Moore. Timothy Dalton. Pierce Brosnan. Daniel Craig. James Bond celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2012, and without the likes of these men, the franchise would never have made it that far.
Casting is an integral part of every movie, but it's the keystone that keeps a series going for 23 movies. You only live twice, but when it comes to picking the right Bond, you only pick once.
Luckily, the slate of men who have inhabited the role of 007 have been the perfect fit for whatever tone their respective films have striven for. But what if the Bond producers had gone a different direction? Picked other actors to take on the iconic role? Hollywood.com looks back at 50 years of Bond history to uncover some of the best "what if" scenarios, actors who almost carried the license to kill, but never managed to snag the part.
Who nearly played 007? Find out in our gallery:
10 Actors Who Could Have Been James Bond
[Photo Credit: Getty Images]
Follow Matt Patches on Twitter @misterpatches
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This week sees the release of Skyfall, the 23rd outing for one of blockbuster cinema's most famous characters: James Bond.
But let's say you've never seen a James Bond movie. It's nothing to be embarrassed about — in fact, pretending you know something Bond might even be more offensive to the aficionado. We here at Hollywood.com feel your pain, but want to help. Here is our simple guide to the James Bond franchise that should help you understand a little about why people are so obsessed with the half century-old spy franchise, and perhaps, even get you interested enough to watch one too:
Okay, who is this James Bond I keep hearing about?
He's Agent 007, member of the British Secret Service.
But who is he?
Ah. The deep version. Well, as we learn in the last Bond outing Skyfall, Bond didn't have an easy childhood (telling you more would be a big spoilery no-no). But until 2012, it's never been a defining characteristic of the secret agent with a license to kill. He's always been just removed enough from reality to do whatever it takes to complete a mission.
Did you say "license to kill?"
That's right. Bond's Double-0 status gives him the authority to take his PPK pistol and pop one in a nefarious thug. Grim, but that's the job.
That doesn't sound entertaining as much as horrifying.
Luckily, a great Bond movie never gets so serious that the idea of taking out bad guys leaves you with a bad moral aftertaste. Author Ian Fleming, a former British secret serviceman himself, created Bond to be the ultimate debonaire. He jets off to exotic lands for his missions, sleeps with beautiful women, utilizes the spiffiest new gadgetry, and always saves the day. And FYI: he takes his martinis shaken, not stirred.
Okay, that sounds a little less horrifying.
Did I mention he routinely drives a pimped out Aston Martin DB5? He routinely drives a pimped out Aston Martin DB5.
Fancy. Who pays for all this stuff?
Technically, the British government. Bond isn't Batman — he may be the one throwing a criminal mastermind off the side of a building or defusing a bomb just in the nick of time, but he's never alone. Back at home base, Bond as a team of elites guiding him: M, the mastermind of the MI6 operation; Q, the gadget extraordinaire who can turn any mild-mannered object into a tool of destruction; and Moneypenny, the flirtatious office manager who always has the right intel at the right time.
I'm still grieving from the Revolutionary War and this whole "Bond" thing sounds awfully British.
Don't worry. For a Yankee who sees Bond as a franchise that's drowning in a spot of tea, Fleming wrote in Felix Leiter, a CIA agent who pops up to help Bond every now and then. The kind of help that can put 32 million francs in the spy's pocket when he's gambling against international terrorists (like in Casino Royale).
So why don't I remember ever seeing James Bond in theaters, DVD, or on a dusty VHS?
Because there isn't actually a movie called James Bond. It all started with Dr. No in 1962, the first adaptation of Fleming's series from franchise masterminds Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman. It took a long time for someone to take a chance on James Bond as a character, people never really understanding the qualities that were important to making him thrive on screen. Then, like magic, it all came together thanks to the animal magnetism of Sean Connery, the first big screen 007.
Sean Who?
Let's see... if you don't know Sean Connery as Bond, maybe you remember him as Indiana Jones' Dad in The Last Crusade, Jim Malone in The Untouchables, the bad guy in the TV adapted spy adventure The Avengers, or the S&amp;M looking hero of Zardoz?
Rings a bell, but I just Googled "James Bond" and it comes up with a picture of that guy from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
That's because Connery only played James Bond from 1962 to 1967 (and a one-off return in 1971 for Diamonds Are Forever). Connery helped define the character of James Bond in the beginning of the franchise's existence. He got the humor, got the action, got the style. He could beat up a guy in a close-quarters fist fight (From Russia With Love) and make brow sweat look cool. On the other hand, he could also find himself strapped to a table, about to be cut by a laser, and never lose his cool. His Bond established the character as humanly superhuman. But the reason we're still talking about Bond 50 years after the first movie is because the franchise has continually recast 007. Between Connery's penultimate and final Bond movies, You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever, the first Bond replacement was found: George Lazenby.
Never heard of him.
Lazenby only starred in a single Bond movie: On Her Majesty's Secret Service in 1969. He didn't click with the vision the producers had in mind and was quickly replaced. Although if you dare to go and investigate, he's actually quite good. In a rare moment of drama, Lazenby's 007 witnesses the death of his new wife (yes, at some point he actually hung around a woman long enough to fall in love). Heavy.
And then came the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo guy, right?
Do you know how time works? No, next to fill Bond's shoes was Roger Moore, an older Bond with a whole lot of charm. With less emphasis on the physical aspects that helped Connery become an icon, Moore's string of films played up the comedy. The only way you can take 007 into space (Moonraker) or dress him up like a clown (Octopussy) is to have a wink-wink approach. That was Moore's contribution to the series.
And then came the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo guy.
What? No! Then came Timothy Dalton who picked up the series in the '80s. A serious British thespian who wanted to transform Bond into a gritty killer worthy of the Cold War conflict, Dalton turned The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill into two notable, yet underappreciated franchise installments. He was ahead of his time, leaving the Roger Moore humor at the door and opting for bloodshed and drama.
And then... came the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo guy?
Nope. Pierce Brosnan was the next in line after Dalton, finding a balance between the modern interpretation and the cartoonish fun more common in Moore's Bond films. With Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day, Bond went toe-to-toe with big budget action movies, and in turn, amped up the set pieces with wild stunts and gadgets (in Die Another Day, Bond surfs a tsunami then outdrives a space laser with an invisible car).
And then came then The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo guy.
It had to come true eventually. The "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo guy" is Daniel Craig, and after a lengthy casting process — with names like Clive Owen and Henry Cavill up for the part — relative unknown Craig nabbed the part. He's been doing the gritty, realistic, and blonde-topped version of Bond since 2006's Casino Royale.
If Bond has been a spy for 50 years, who has he been fighting this whole time? Lex Luthor? Sauron? The Volturi?
Bond's villainous rogue's gallery has been mostly comprised of random evildoers. There's the bullion-obssesed Auric Goldfinger and his hat-throwing sidekick Oddjob (Goldfinger), the deadly assassin Scaramanga (The Man with the Golden Gun), Christopher Walken's psycho businessman Max Zorin (A View to Kill), Robert Davi's too-real-for-comfort drug cartel leader Franz Sanchez (Licence to Kill), scorned MI6 agent Alec Trevelyan (GoldenEye), and oil maven Elektra King (whose boyfriend Renard has a bullet slowly burrowing into his brain) — just to name a few.
What, so no continuity?
You know what continuity is?
Someone mentioned the word once in an article about Marvel superhero movies.
Well don't worry too much — the magic of new villains creates a standalone (and enjoyable adventure) every time. That said, Bond has had continuity in the past. Blofeld, the bald-headed, cat-stroking villain who has inspired both Dr. Evil and Claw from Inspector Gadget, was a reoccurring adversary for 007 for years. Instead of engaging Bond in fisticuffs (where the spy's license to kill would likely end in his demise), Blofeld wisely orchestrated much of the terror, pulling strings for members of his organization, SPECTRE, who carried out the deadly plots of From Russia with Love, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and Diamonds Are Forever. Many thought the modern Bond movies may find a SPECTRE-like groove with the inclusion of QUANTUM in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.
You have a fondness for all things Bond. But why should I actually take the plunge? I need something worth munching popcorn to.
Here's what you can expect from a Bond movie: everything and nothing. This is a franchise that's followed its lead character as he escaped KGB while riding a cello case down a snowy mountain, killed a guy with a zamboni, chased down an airplane on horseback, twirled a dance partner into an incoming bullet, self-defibrillated himself to stop a deadly poison, two-wheeled a mac truck to avoid a missile, and shot a guy with a harpoon mid-makeout session. The series is nothing but eclectic. It helps to know where the series is coming from if (or should I say, when) you decide to dive in yourself, but the beautiful thing about Bond is that with each passing movie, it never repeats.
Everything makes sense now. Except for those crazy opening music sequences.
I can't explain the artistic wonderment of a naked women dancing to A-ha. That's just something you have to feel out yourself.
Follow Matt Patches on Twitter @misterpatches
[Photo Credit: Sony Pictures]
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Only six actors have played James Bond, but there are as many opinions about each one as women Bond has slept with over the years. I'm not here to debate who is the best, who is the worst, who wore his tuxedo best, and which one had the nicest thatch of chest hair. (For the record, Lazenby, definitely.) I'm here to tell you about yourself. What does your favorite Bond say about you? Yes, each Bond attracts a type, and based on your selection of which secret agent you would like to guard your secrets, we can learn a lot about you. Find out more about yourself below.
Sean Connery Active Years: 1961-1971 Number of Movies: Six What He Says About You: You fetishize things from the past. It's not only nostalgia for things in your childhood, but you make a big deal about getting artisanal pickles and whiskey with only one giant ice cube. You love Mad Men mostly for the clothes and the furniture, even though you don't understand what is going on. Even though there are newer, better cell phones on the market, you still cling to your RAZR because it makes you feel especially cool. You have been to a farmer's market and carry one of those reusable bags that zips up into a little pouch. You believe in the horoscope. You have taken Viagra non-recreationally. George Lazenby Active Years: 1969 Number of Movies: One What He Says About You: You consider yourself either a non-conformist or an aesthete. If you think you're a non-conformist, you're not really different than anyone else, especially your friends. It's just that you're trying so hard to be different that you come off as wacky. If you are an aesthete, you probably don't have a lot of money, but you have really good taste. If only that were a job onto itself. You own a tuxedo shirt (or a blouse that looks like one) though you don't have many occasions to wear it. In fact, you probably spend too much on clothing. You like your steak medium rare, you are curious about Crossfit, and you unironically hunt for foods with antioxidants. Roger Moore Active Years: 1973-1985 Number of Movies: Seven What He Says About You: You are your nieces' and nephews' favorite uncle, even if they don't get all of your jokes. That's because most of your jokes are pretty lame. You own a lot of graphic T-shirts, many of them with catchphrases popularized by movies or TV shows. Your taste in music is generally s**tty, even though you continue to proselytize for Rush against the rest of the world's admonitions. You enjoy a hobby that is both obscure to the world, but intense for practitioners, like poetry, cabaret, or magic. You like Family Guy and Grace Jones, even though she would hate you for liking Family Guy. Timothy Dalton Active Years: 1987-1989 Number of Movies: Two What He Says About You: You are a ghost. You are figure of the imagination. You are a unicorn, a Tooth Fairy, an upstanding member of the Lohan clan. You do not exist. Pierce Brosnan Active Years: 1998-2002 Number of Movies: Four What He Says About You: You have read and enjoyed Fifty Shades of Grey. The last time you got really, really drunk was when you went to a Neil Diamond concert with your girlfriends and you felt like crap for three days. You told your kids it was the flu, and they were embarrassed of you like they always are. You are an excellent cook and have the best collection of yoga pants of anyone in your neighborhood, even if you don't do yoga as often as you'd like. You drink mostly white wine and you're finally getting over your crush on George Clooney. Daniel Craig Active Years: 2006-Present Number of Movies: Three (so far) What He Says About You: Your high school sweetheart treated you like crap and you've never quite gotten over it. Now the guys you like are all kind of jerks or douchebags, but that makes you like them even more. Yes, that means you are probably gay or a woman, and you hate board shorts and guys who don't tend to their body hair, but you won't call it "manscaping" because you don't want to sound like an idiot. If you're a straight guy (and there is nothing wrong with that) you have been described as a "metrosexual" by the annoying lady in your office. You don't like to cry at movies, though you sometime do and hide it from people. You go to the gym regularly and go commando. You shave your pubic area and you spend way too much money on Apple products. Follow Brian Moylan on Twitter @BrianJMoylan [Photo Credit: United Artists (2), MGM (3), Columbia Pictures] More: Idris Elba as James Bond: The Right Move for 007 James Bond Turns 50: Why the Franchise Should Never End 'Skyfall' Trailer: What James Bond Learned From Harry Potter From Our Partners:New ‘Star Wars VII’: What to Expect (Moviefone) Don’t Fly! Ridiculously Bad Movie Pilots(Moviefone)

In 1954, Ian Fleming's novel Casino Royale was adapted as an episode of the CBS anthology TV series Climax!. The episode starred Barry Nelson as "Jimmy Bond," and was generally loathed by anyone who had read Fleming's seminal spy novels (including Fleming himself). A Cary Grant-esque Bond may have sounded like gold to television producers, but it was a nail in the coffin for the character's cinematic potential.
Thankfully, Fleming had fans that were aware of James Bond's potential. After a few failed attempts by Fleming himself, producers Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman nabbed the movie rights to Bond in the late '50s, and embarked on a journey that would eventually result in the first James Bond big screen adventure: Dr. No, starring a then-unknown Sean Connery, premiered in the UK on October 5, 1962. Action movies would never be the same.
Decades after the overnight success of Dr. No, Broccoli and Saltzman's faith in 007 never wavered. Sean Connery's riveting take on the debonair killer hooked audiences across the globe (even more so in Japan than the UK or US — the Scottish star was infamously mobbed by Japanese fans during the shoot for You Only Live Twice), but after departing the series following Diamonds Are Forever, the franchise lived on. As other actors embraced the role of James Bond and made it their own, it was clear that the core of the franchise wasn't a movie star, but a perfect character. The missions could take place anywhere at anytime, as long as Bond had integrity. Malleability is hard to find in Hollywood, but it's the reason Broccoli's and Saltzman's Bond has survived for over five decades.
Not every Bond film has been a critical or financial success, but the longevity and demand of the character has given pop culture one of its greatest archives. 007's adventures reflect the zeitgeist like few other properties; you can see the evolving world through the lens of the films. Dr. No and the followup From Russia with Love are steeped in the politics and dangers of the '60s — Connery's swagger balances the terrors of the times and spins it into entertainment. 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service, George Lazenby's only outing as Bond, is psychedelic in all the right ways. Moonraker put Roger Moore's Bond into his very own sci-fi adventure — two years after Star Wars blew the collective minds of every moviegoer, young and old. Timothy Dalton embraced Cold War politics in 1987's The Living Daylights and turned Bond into a gritty action hero that even audiences were unprepared to handle. The films continued to match the large-scale action of modern blockbusters throughout the '90s, the dashing Pierce Brosnan side by side with high-tech gadgetry and wonderfully goofy set pieces. But following the tragedy of 9/11, global conflict took the wind out of Bond's sails. There was a demand for realism again. Daniel Craig was the perfect man for the job.
Saltzman eventually ended his working relationship with Broccoli (1974's The Man with the Golden Gun was there last co-produced effort), and Broccoli passed away after the release of Goldeneye, but their combined efforts ensured that someone would always be there to pick up the baton and run the Bond race. Cubby's daughter Barbara Broccoli and her half-brother Michael G. Wilson continue to preserve 007's cinematic legacy, and even more importantly, Fleming's vision of the character.
Over the years, the Bond series has had its missteps (there may have been one too many Moore-in-costume moments throughout the '70s and '80s), but its hard to imagine a world without the classic character. Every month sports one or two major blockbusters, but Bond's 50 year history gives each installment weight that one-off action flicks can never imitate. Even when the movies are fluffy and brainless (it's hard to feel an emotional connection in a film like Die Another Day, where James Bond fights an evil North Korean who lives in an ice castle and is bent on taking over the world with a space cannon), they are still culturally momentous, acting as a mirror to who we are and what we want from our entertainment. That's a demanding role, but if anyone can pull it off, it's Bond. James Bond.
For more Bond 50th anniversary goodness, check out the comprehensive documentary Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007, which chronicles the ups and downs of Bond's five decades on screen. The entire Bond collection has also been recently released on Blu-ray, in an epic collection aptly titled Bond 50. The set, which includes every Bond adventure in pristine condition and a set of behind-the-scenes extras that dive deeper into the series history, should feed any Bond junkie's appetite. Or thirst (if there aren't martinis around).
[Photo Credit: Epix]
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The 84 year old, who portrayed 007 from 1973 to 1985, caused controversy last year (11) by branding Craig's Quantum of Solace "a long, disjointed commercial" - but Moore insists he is a huge fan of the Layer Cake star.
In his new book Bond on Bond, he writes, "I loved Casino Royale and Daniel Craig. He is a wonderful actor, certainly the best actor to play Bond. (He has) the best build of any Bond."
Moore also admits he is looking forward to the upcoming 23rd installment of the superspy franchise, adding: "I believe that Skyfall is going to have a lot more humour in it than Quantum of Solace did, something I'll be pleased to see."
Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan have also played 007 in the films since the first movie, Dr. No, in 1962.

Title

Made film debut as a British Spy in the Italian-made Bond spoof "Marc Mato, Agente S.077"

Portrayed Mario, opposite Sylvia Kristel’s Emmanuelle in a series of softcore made-for-cable films

Lent his voice to The King, head of the Royal Flush gang, on the animated "Batman Beyond" (WB)

Appeared on several episodes of "The Pretender" (NBC)

Cast as James Bond in the series’ sixth film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"; became the only actor to have played the 007 agent in only one official Bond series film; nominated for a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer

Moved to London and began modeling

Returned to regular TV work on the syndicated "Superboy" as Jor-El

Was a series regular on the syndicated prime time soap opera "Rituals"

Played a senator in Peter Bogdanovich’s black comedy "Saint Jack"

Appeared as General Pettigrew in the feature, "Gettysburg"

Announced his official retirement from acting

Played the Aston Martin-driving 'JB' in "The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E."

Played a role in the CD-ROM game, "Fox Hunt"

Cast in the action-drama called "Universal Soldier"; also co-produced and co-wrote

Became the highest-paid male model in the world

Appeared in the American TV drama "Evening at Byzantium"

Had a recurring role on the daytime soap "General Hospital" (ABC)

Appeared in John Landis' "The Kentucky Fried Movie"

Cast in what was to be his comeback role, co-starring with Bruce Lee in "Game of Death"; the sudden death of Lee delayed the films release and Lazenby was edited out of the final film

Summary

Forever enshrined in the footnotes of pop culture history as the second actor to play James Bond on screen - and the one with the shortest tenure in the role - George Lazenby was a former model plucked from relative obscurity to replace Sean Connery as 007 in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969). Lazenby refused to play Bond again thanks to bad career advice, leaving him to languish in relative obscurity for much of the 1970s before resurfacing as a supporting player in several television series and made-for-TV movies. He also made frequent tongue-in-cheek appearances as Bond or a Bond-like secret agent in TV movies and commercials.<p>Born George Robert Lazenby in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia on Sept. 5, 1939, he served in the Australian Armed Special Forces and worked at several jobs in his native country - car salesman and ski instructor, among others - before departing for London in 1964. Lazenby's rugged good looks made him a natural choice for print and television modeling work - including a stint as the European Marlboro Man - and by 1968, he was reportedly the highest-paid male model on the planet. Such wide exposure brought him to the attention of film producers. He made his film debut as a "British Spy" in the Italian-made Bond spoof, "Marc Mato, Agente S.077" (known as "Espionage in Tangiers" in English-speaking countries, where Lazenby's scenes were reportedly cut by distributors).<p>When Sean Connery left the James Bond franchise after "You Only Live Twice" (1965), the producers cast a wide net to find a suitable replacement. After seeing Lazenby in a television commercial, producer Cubby Broccoli requested an interview and screen test. The actor scored well on both fronts - reportedly, he broke a stunt man's nose during a fight scene - and was announced as the new James Bond in the series' sixth film, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." According to numerous interviews completed after the film's release, tensions between Lazenby, co-star Diana Rigg (who supposedly ate garlic before her love scenes with him), and director Peter Hunt made the production an uncomfortable one for all involved. Matters became worse when Lazenby's manager, Rohan O'Rahilly - later the founder of England's legendary pirate radio station Radio Caroline - persuaded him to reject a seven-picture contract and walk away from the role due to its irrelevance in the face of the growing 1960s youth culture.<p>Though Lazenby would later state that he never said that he would leave the role, O'Rahilly publicly announced that his client would not return as Bond before the film's premiere. Lazenby was released from his contract. The film performed admirably at the box office, though not as well as the Bond pictures starring Connery, and was the second highest grossing film of 1969. Lazenby was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer. The laurel, and the picture itself, would be the last association with high-profile moviemaking in Lazenby's career.<p>Following the Bond debacle, Lazenby struggled to retain his foothold in films. He stepped as far from the 007 image as possible with his first feature after "Majesty" - an action-drama called "Universal Soldier" (1971) in which he starred as a soldier of fortune who suffers a crisis of conscience after signing on to train a band of mercenaries for an African president. Lazenby co-produced and co-wrote the picture, but the film did not have much of an impact at the box office. Newly married to newspaper heiress Christina Gannett in 1971, and the father of two young children, son Zachary and daughter Melanie, Lazenby did what so many other actors had done before him - he waded into the waters of international moviemaking, where his name and status as a former Bond lent star power to many a low-budget genre film.<p>Most of his efforts were forgettable, though 1972's "Who Saw Her Die?" - an eerie Italian thriller about a bereaved father (Lazenby) who discovers a conspiracy behind the facts surrounding his daughter's death - had its moments. Lazenby nearly launched a comeback by signing with Hong Kong's Golden Harvest, and would have co-starred with the legendary Bruce Lee - under whom he studied martial arts and philosophy - in his feature "Game of Death" (1978), had the martial arts superstar not died unexpectedly in 1973. Lazenby eventually completed four kung fu films in the East, but none had the international drawing power of Lee's features. In fact, Lazenby's footage was edited from "Game of Death" when it was finally released to theaters in 1978. Lazenby also popped up as an architect in "That's Armageddon!," a spoof of disaster movies featured in the Zucker Brothers' sketch comedy film, "Kentucky Fried Movie" (1977), and as a senator in Peter Bogdanovich's black comedy "Saint Jack" (1979). There were also reports that Monty Python's John Cleese wanted him to play Jesus Christ in their Biblical spoof "Life of Brian" (1979), but scheduling conflicts prevented him from taking the part.<p>American television offered him steady work in the late 1970s and early 1980s; most notably the terrorism drama "Evening at Byzantium" (1978). He eventually signed on to a year as a recurring character on the daytime soap "General Hospital" (ABC, 1963- ) in 1982 before becoming a series regular in the expensive syndicated primetime soap opera "Rituals" (1984-85). The series - in which he played a writer and former love interest of main vixen Tina Louise - fared poorly and was cancelled after only a year. Lazenby later returned to regular TV work on the syndicated "Superboy" (1988-1992) as the Man of Steel's father, Jor-El. Throughout this busy period, Lazenby also continued to play up his pedigree as a former Bond; he was the Aston Martin-driving "JB" in "The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E." (CBS, 1983), and "James" in an episode of the revived "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (NBC/USA, 1985-87). Aside from also making regular appearances at Bond-related public events and conventions, Lazenby was briefly considered to reprise 007 when producer Kevin McClory announced "Never Say Never Again" (1983), his remake of "Thunderball" (1965), but was dropped after Sean Connery agreed to once again take up the tuxedo and martini.<p>Lazenby's interest in acting waned during the early 1990s. He still logged time in features and television - most notably in "Gettysburg" (1993) as General J. Johnston Pettigrew, and as the suave Mario, who listens to Sylvia Kristel's Emmanuelle recount her erotic past in a series of softcore made-for-cable films between 1992 and 1995. Lazenby also suffered a terrible personal blow during this period when his son Zachary died from brain cancer in 1994. His priorities shifted to real estate, which made him exceptionally wealthy and the owner of several expensive homes in America as well as in Hong Kong and Australia. His marriage to Gannett ended in 1999, and he later married tennis pro and sports broadcaster Pam Shriver in 2002. The couple later had three children - a son, George, born in 2004, and twins Caitlin and Samuel, born in 2005.<p>Lazenby's later screen appearance came at the turn of the 21st century when he appeared on several episodes of "The Pretender" (NBC, 1996-2000) and voiced The King, head of the Royal Flush gang, on the animated "Batman Beyond" (The WB, 1999-2001). Lazenby announced his official retirement from acting in 2003 in order to enjoy life with his family and his numerous pastimes, which included car and motorcycle racing and sailing. In a 2007 episode of "Where Are They Now" (Seven Network, 2006- ), an Australian TV series, he expressed an interest in returning to Australia to raise his children there.